Place Names of San Antonio

plus Bexar and Surrounding Counties

We deal with dozens of place names in the course of everyday life—of streets, schools, parks, towns, natural features. Do the names mean anything beyond just labeling where we live, the routes we drive or the places we’re going?

This enlarged edition of Place Names of San Antonio identifies the origins of nearly 1,000 familiar place names in the San Antonio region. Naming sleuth Dr. David P. Green cracks mysteries that puzzled him in earlier editions, and comes up with several hundred new entries as well. Who—or what—is it named for? A leader or a rogue? A vanished family, a favorite pet or simply someone who happened to be around when a name was needed? This is a book with answers you’ll find yourself referring to again and again.

David Green is a surgeon and educator who has written and edited several textbooks on orthopedic and hand surgery. When he was on the faculty at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in the 1970s, his address was on Floyd Curl Drive. No one seemed to know who Floyd Curl was. Curiosity over the naming of this street led to a widening search for the stories behind the names of San Antonio.